The petition has been started by Stephen Slater, shortly to become CEO of the Light Aircraft Association and also a leading light in the activities of the General Aviation Awareness Council (GAAC) which champions airfield protection.

GAAC says that in 2003 an ‘administrative oversight’ led to the deletion of planning protection from airfields being classified as brownfield sites. As a result, airfields are being closed by developers, breaking transport links and destroying significant areas of natural habitat within airfield boundaries.

The situation has been compounded by a proposal in the Chancellor’s summer budget to allow automatic planning permission to be granted for housing developments on designated brownfield sites.

If this goes unchallenged then many airfield and model flying sites across the UK could be re-developed into housing estates with little chance of saving them.

The BMFA and GAAC needs to get to 100000 signatures for this to be debated in Parliament. Please share as far and wide as possible.